Public Safety chief search: City manager will choose by May 23

Jonathon Gruenke | Kalamazoo GazetteKalamazoo Public Safety Chief finalists, from left, Capt. Jeffrey Hadley of the Fort Wayne Police Department, David Headings, Chief of the Battle Creek Police Department and Capt. Kim Johnson of the East Lansing Police Department, during public presentations in the Kalamazoo City Commission chambers Wednesday night.

Story originally published May 15, 2008

KALAMAZOO -- By City Manager Kenneth Collard's watch, Kalamazoo residents will know who their next Department of Public Safety chief is eight days from now.

But before Collard makes what has been called the biggest decision of his career, the three finalists for the job made their cases publicly Wednesday inside City Commission chambers at City Hall where hardly a seat was left empty.

Dressed in tailored suits and ties, Fort Wayne Capt. Jeffrey Hadley, Battle Creek Police Chief David Headings and East Lansing Capt. Kim Johnson each gave brief presentations, and all stressed the importance of community policing and addressing neighborhood needs.

Continue on to read a brief synopsis and watch videos of each candidate's presentation.

The number of people who packed into city commission chambers Wednesday night wasn't lost on Hadley, who was recently a finalist for police chief in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he said a similar public forum drew a sparse audience.

"What I see tonight is an energy I haven't seen in my 17 years of policing," said Hadley, 37. "What that tells me is we can win here, folks."

Finalist Presentations for Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety Chief Position

Hadley spent little time on his credentials Wednesday, splicing tidbits of them throughout his presentation, including his work to diversify the Fort Wayne Police Department's work force and his push to focus more on the specific needs of neighborhoods and less on long-term investigations when he became commander of the agency's vice and narcotics division.

"Neighborhoods are the most important things in your community," Hadley said. "Listen to them and allocate your resources accordingly ... You partner with those people, you listen to them and you move forward."

Hadley said he would be open to forming a citizens advisory board for the Department of Public Safety that would allow "for meaningful dialogue" to address residents' concerns. He also championed an open line of communication among the agency, Collard's office and city commissioners.

Still, Hadley said, at the heart of everything the agency does, residents of the city and its neighborhood have to remain the focus.

"I will be visible, I will be transparent, and I will partner with you to achieve the quality of life you deserve," Hadley said. "It ain't about Jeff Hadley, it ain't about the Department of Public Safety, it's about what's best for the community."

While he was the second finalist to speak Wednesday night, Headings was the first to make an entrance to city commission chambers, shaking hands and trading smiles and laughs with several people.

With 22 years of experience in the Department of Public Safety before leaving for Battle Creek in 2002, Headings, 63, seemed at ease Wednesday.

During his presentation, Headings, a Vietnam veteran, spoke of his days growing up in Detroit and his time in the military where he said he honed his leadership skills. He also talked about being a witness to the Detroit riots and the mistreatment of minorities at the hands of the police and the military.

Finalist Presentations for Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety Chief Position

It was those experiences, he said, that prompted him to become a police officer with the hope of "making a change from within."

In Battle Creek, Headings said he implemented a problem-solving-oriented brand of policing to address issues ranging from gun violence to gangs.

"We wanted to cure it rather than just address the symptoms," Headings said.

While the initiative has been successful, Headings said Kalamazoo has the advantage over Battle Creek of being able to use both police officers and firefighters through its combined police and fire operations to "address community ills."

Headings said reaching out to the community can be accomplished by tapping resources both inside and outside the department.

"We're going to rebuild relationships," Headings said. "It's going to be a face-to-face thing ... It's not about arrests, it's about solving problems ... We're here to serve and not to rule, and the officers have understand that."

Johnson, a 26-year veteran of the East Lansing Police Department, told the crowd of more than 100 at City Hall that he envisions implementing a community-policing model within the Department of Public Safety during the next three to five years to ensure "stable neighborhoods, schools and downtown district."

He began by running down a list of credentials that indicate he's had prior success with such an initiative. Johnson said he and a fellow lieutenant built community policing in East Lansing "pretty much from the ground up" and eventually trained every officer in the department.

Finalist Presentations for Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety Chief Position

"One good thing we liked about our initiative is we were able to bring community problems to the table," said Johnson, 50. "The answers and long-term solutions we came up with were unique and specific."

If appointed chief, Johnson said he hopes to build an atmosphere of trust that's buoyed by open and honest discussions between him and his counterparts. He called himself a "collaborator," who is goal-oriented, caring and a good communicator.

And the importance of building relationships with the city's residents, Johnson said, is of great importance to him. He said he hopes to pass down to public-safety officers his life theme for them to use when they interact with residents: "Do what's right, do the best I can and treat others the way I want to be treated."

"I would do my best to do what we do best at the Department of Public Safety and that's public service," Johnson said. "I'll do my best to improve the relationships we have with our community members ... Serving the community has to be our foundation."